West Virginia, Country Home

Opening thought: Well, everything is done that needs to be done for tomorrow, but unfortunately I'm not home free until Wednesday, so the work will continue this weekend.

Ok, let's recap tonight's games:

• Louisville 93, Washington 79. The Cardinals are the best team in the Tournament right now, which includes North Carolina and Illinois. I didn't think the Cards would be able to get away with playing zone against UW, and for the first 10 minutes they didn't. The Huskies found the gaps and got easy buckets early to go up 7. Then, Taeqan Dean and Francisco Garcia got hot, turning the deficit into a 12 point halftime lead. The Huskies could only get as close as 6 in the 2nd half, as Garcia & Co. ate the usually strong Huskie perimeter defense alive with ball screen pick and roll and running staggered screens for the shooters which gave them open looks for jump shots. When U of L went back to the pick and roll, UW got caught in mismatches which led to easy buckets inside. It didn't help things that Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons got in early foul trouble for UW, taking them out of the flow of the game. Right now, Louisville is the team to beat.
• Illinois 77, UW-Milwaukee 63. Even though it's hard to believe at this stage of the year, but Illinois is getting better. They are finding their groove again now that they're out of the Big 10. Tonight, they showed their versatility by running with the Panthers, unafraid to play the frantic pace the Panthers like. Despite a career high 32 from Joah Tucker, the rest of the Panthers struggled, including other star Ed McCants who only made 4/17 shots to score 13 points. Also, after living off the 3 last weekend, the Panthers died by it tonight, only making 7/29, most of them ill-advised shots. Illinois shot 49% from the floor and only committed 9 turnovers, remarkable against a team that presses for 40 minutes. Don't count out the Illini, they will find ways to beat you, and you must play your best game to beat them.
• West Virginia 65, Texas Tech 60. The Mountaineers did a great job of changing defenses and challenging the Red Raider guards outside, pressuring them into mistakes they hadn't made since December. Add to that the play of Kevin Pittsnogle and WVU had enough to hold off the late Tech run to win. This was the poorest I'd seen the Tech guards play since the beginning of the year. They never settled down, especially Ronald Ross, who seemed to be trying too hard in his home state. He made some great defensive plays to get some easy baskets, but he was never comfortable against the Mountaineer defense. Giles and Dora did a good job underneath for Tech, but Giles was in foul trouble most of the game, limiting his effectiveness. I'm still in shock that just 2 weeks after fighting for their NCAA lives, West Virginia is in the Elite 8. Ahh, the beauty of the NCAA Tournament.
• Arizona 79, Oklahoma St. 78. In by far the best game of the night, Salim Stoudamire put all questions about whether or not this Arizona team is for real by knocking down 2 clutch shots to give UA the win. First, was his remarkable clutch 3 while hanging in the air off balance that put the Cats up 1 with 53 sec. left. Then, after a Joey Graham floater put OSU up 1, Stoudamire hit a hanging, 16 foot fadeaway to put UA up 1 with 2.8 sec left. I'm convinced he's the best shooter in America, not just because he leads the nation in 3 point shooting, but because he can come up with the big shot more consistently with J.J. Redick. But what also was impressive was how hard and smart UA played. 4 starters were in double figures. Channing Frye was strong, assertive and confident, making big shots down the stretch. And how about the determination the players and Lute Olson showed after the game. They believe they have more basketball beyond Saturday night to play. It's hard to beat a team when they shoot 66% from the floor, which is what UA did tonight, but OSU came close. The Cowboys' inconsistency on defense cost them a return Final 4 trip.

I only won 1 of 4 games tonight, how pathetic is that? Oh well, this is too much fun to worry about something like that. Hopefully, all 4 games tomorrow are like the last 2 tonight.